Archive for August, 2013|Monthly archive page

Earlier in the summer I put two small hummingbird feeders on our picture window outside the kitchen breakfast room. A matched pair of birds have been fighting over the source of food ever since. Right now I see a male and female perched on a tree branch outside the window of my upstairs office where I am typing this message. The lively pair are sitting conveniently close to the newer bigger hummingbird feeder that I hung over the same picture window.

Everyday they used up the sugar water in the two smaller feeder vials so quickly that I was adding more liquid to the containers several times daily. I decided to use one larger feeder to save myself some time and footwork. Now that they have discovered the new feeder it’s World War III on the back porch. These fascinating critters provide us with plenty of action to view at mealtimes as they dive bomb one another and chasing one another off the sweet juice. Territorial beasts they are!

Share this:

Like this:

My grandfather was Llewellyn Donalson Fain who was born in 1888 in Faceville, Georgia. Tomorrow, August 10, 2013 is the 125 anniversary of his birth. Even though he has passed into eternity, I have a special connection to him because my birthday is also in August and I have just celebrated it. As a little girl I was always excited to have my birthday around the same time as Grandpapa Llewellyn did. I have been going through the letters he wrote to my Grandmother Louise Clark Fain from 1916 to 1919. Grandpapa loved her dearly and she loved him. These letters are a look at their relationship which was long distance soon after they married for he was sent off to France in World War I from Tallahassee, Florida. Their first child, Nelle, was born just after he left to go to war. Grandmama Louise’s correspondence to him reflects several updates on the new baby’s growth. During my devotional time this a. m. I came across a set of verses that helped my state of mind as I think about growing older myself and of the people who have gone on before me. These verses are from a book named Streams in the Desert by L. B. Cowman, edited by Jim Reiman. The person who edited this book usually does a great job of giving references for the source of the poetry in the book, but in today’s reading that is not the case. Here is the poem for you to enjoy, however I do not have a reference for who wrote it except to say that it is from page 305 in the book and is based on Psalm 84:4-5, which is an exhortation for strength in the Lord. As a devoted gardener, I identified with the references of growing and trimming in the verses.

I have been through the valley of weeping,The valley of sorrow and pain,But the “God of all comfort” was with me,At hand to uphold and sustain.

As the earth needs the clouds and the sunshine,Our souls need both sorrow and joy;So He places us oft in the furnace,The dross from the gold to destroy.

When he leads through some valley of trouble,His omnipotent hand we trace;For the trials and sorrows He sends us,Are part of His lessons in grace.

Oft we run from the purging and pruning,Forgetting the Gardener knows,That the deeper the cutting and trimming,The richer the cluster that grows.

Well He knows that affliction is needed;He has a wise purpose in view,And in the dark valley He whispers,“Soon you’ll understand what I do.”

As we travel through life’s shadowed valley,Fresh springs of His love ever rise;And we learn that our sorrows and losses,Are blessings just sent in disguise.

So we’ll follow wherever He leads us,Let the path be dreary or bright;For we’ve proved that our God can give comfort;Our God can give songs in the night.

I bless the memory of those who have gone on before me. I am thankful for their positive influence on my life and in the lives of all who knew and loved them.

RBP

Share this:

Like this:

I have written a five chapter anthology book in picture form about the teasel creatures I create. I have written about the history of the use of the teasel seedpods in Americanmanufacturing of woolen cloth. I am looking for a publisher of the picture book. If anyone out there can put me in touch with a publisher of children’s books I would be grateful to them for the favor. Becky Pinckney